bigdog’s Blog posts
TradeKing’s Got Your Brand-New Groove
Drumroll, please! After gathering your input via the Trader Network, social media and customer service channels, we’re finally releasing our new hold-music mix for phone. As always, we try ha... more
TradeKing Investors Speak - Market Optimism is Flagging
It’s that time of year again. We’ve just released the results of our quarterly investor survey, and as usual we unearthed a few surprises. Read the full results in our press release, but he... more
We’re Celebrating TradeKing Moms for Mother’s Day!
Behind every stellar kid or adult stands fantastic parents – especially the moms. Having met quite a few of our employees’ parents through the years, I’d definitely say great moms have cont... more
Warren Buffett is Finally on Twitter!
I do believe Twitter for investing has officially arrived. We recently passed a watershed moment I honestly wasn’t sure would happen anytime soon (if ever): Warren Buffett has officially st... more
The Tweet That Rattled Whole Markets
I was amazed last week at how just one false tweet, sent from a hacked Associated Press account, rattled markets up and down Wall Street. The Wall Street Journal recaps the (luckily momenta... more
The Business Value in Saying “I Don’t Know”
A recent headline in Fast Company, “The Smart Way to Say ‘I Don’t Know,’” reminded me of one of my very first blog posts. The article happened to be about three female entrepreneurs who fou... more
Bitcoin, Gold and the Weird World of Alternate Currencies
Two very weird tales of alternate currencies have been making news headlines recently. The first you probably know all about: gold, which plunged 9% last Monday, its worst single-day decli... more
High Fives for Our Customer Service Team!
Client feedback is TradeKing’s lifeblood. Good, bad or ugly, we always want to hear what you think of how we’re doing. Of course, it’s extra-nice to earn customer accolades for outstandin... more
Voted Yet for TradeKing’s New Hold Music?
Not too long ago I posted about refreshing TradeKing’s playlist for hold music, soliciting ideas for great tunes we should include. We’ve gotten lots of great suggestions via multiple channels – s... more
Donald Duck’s Pep Talk on Taxes & Other Tax Day Fun
Greetings, my fellow Americans. For millions of us, today is a nail-biting day of frantic e-filing, burning up solar calculators and frazzling nerves from coast to coast. I thought today’s post c... more
Is This Market Cruising Towards a Black Swan Event?
Lots of traders are debating whether or not the current “bull market” is looking a bit toppy and unsustainable. I’ve seen interesting chatter on this subject everywhere from traditional media... more
Talkin’ Financial Services Tech at Loyola University Maryland
It’s always a pleasure to speak with finance students at Loyola University Maryland’s Sellinger School of Business – as I recently, once again, had a chance to do. Our partnership with Prof. ... more
Retire Before 40? Some Say It’s Possible
Here’s an interesting trend piece on “extreme” early retirement by USA Today columnist Matt Krantz. He’s not talking about instant startup millionaires like 18-year-old Yahoo wunderkind Nick ... more
TradeKing Product Update for March 2013
Our 2013 New Year’s Resolution has been to post regular updates on our progress in ongoing product innovation. I’m happy to say we’ve stuck to it every month – check out our progress reports ... more
Help Us Refresh TradeKing’s Phone Music!
Now for something completely different (and fun): we’ve decided it’s time to refresh our phone-hold music and wanted to get your input about the money-related songs we should include. While... more
How Your Retirement Package Compares to Congress Members
Want an excuse to get riled up at Congress? Wait, do we even need another one? Well, consider this your daily dose of congressional ire: CNBC’s Paul O’Donnell wrote an excellent article, How ... more
The End of Paper Stock Certificates?
Finally it seems the end of paper stock certificates is here. According to The Wall Street Journal, the Depository Trust & Clearing Corp. (DTC) wants to stop issuing new paper certificate... more
Have You Fed Your IRA Lately?
I’ve heard from media sources and friends that some investors are skipping their annual contribution to their IRAs this year. Some are disgruntled about their portfolio returns; others are f... more
Teaching Your Kids to Save Money (and Not Blow It)
Parents: how do you teach your kids solid financial values? How did you learn those values yourself, anyhow? I got to thinking about this after reading “How Your Kids are Learning Not to Blow ... more
TradeKing Scores 4 Stars in Barron’s 2013 Online Broker Survey
Barron’s 18th annual online brokerage survey is out – and TradeKing has yet again made a strong showing on numerous fronts. Not only did we earn four stars from Barron’s for the seventh time in a... more
